Roach queen
Roach queens are a typical monster in many dungeons, and are usually encountered after their offspring, dungeon roaches. Description has just spawned roaches]] Roach queens give birth to roaches, fulfilling much the same role as queen bees. Unlike bees, however, all roaches that are born are considered workers - the roach queen usually carries around most, if not all, of the ingredients required to make roach eggs and is usually fed by her worker children during quiet, safe moments. Roach queens can be identified among their children by their enlarged abdomen, their glossy, silver wings (although they never fly), and, most tellingly, the fact that all the roaches are usually attacking any threat and the roach queen isn't. When threatened, the roach queen will attempt to scurry as far away from the threat as possible, occasionally stopping to lay eggs in promising-looking areas. As these are roaches, this is almost anywhere. The larvae will hatch into mostly-developed roaches in a manner of seconds. Roach queens lay eggs at a much faster rate when they are running away from a threat in this manner, relying on their children for defense. This rate is predictable, and the alert smitemaster can count precisely how long it will be until the roach queen lays more eggs. Some roach queens are used in the roachmeat industries, but it turns out to be far more cost effective to hire smitemasters to clean out infestations and haul the carcasses back up than to breed roaches in captivity (which is dangerous, since the problems when a roach gets loose are much greater than with other, more docile meats). Behavior Movement *Roach queens use normal beelining. They determine which of the eight adjoining squares is closest to player and attempt to move in the opposite direction. If blocked from moving orthogonally, a queen does nothing. If the blocked move was diagonal, however, she will try to move vertically away and, if failing that, horizontally away. *Brained roach queens use pathfinding. The brain calculates the move list it would give to a roach, excluding waiting, and then orders the queen to move in the opposite direction. However, there are exceptions; if the order was to move vertically, the brain tells the queen to move diagonally and towards the vertical line passing through the center of the room. Similarly, if the order was to move horizontally, the brain tells the queen to move diagonally and towards the horizontal line passing through the center of the room. The queen then tries to move in the direction suggested by the brain (which will always be diagonally); if she can't, then she tries to move in the closest vertical direction, and failing that, she tries the closest horizontal direction. *Roach queens cannot move over deep and shallow water, walls, closed doors, orbs, bombs, mirrors, pits, tarstuff, potions, or other monsters. *Roach queens use default rules for determining their target. Vulnerabilities *Roach queens are vulnerable to: Weapon strikes, Hot tiles, Drowning in deep and shallow water, Adder jaws, Puffs, Fire traps, Spikes, and Explosions. Other *Every 30 turns, roach queens lay eggs on every blank square in each of the eight directions from her. These eggs will hatch into fully-formed roaches after five turns and will move on the next turn. Queens cannot lay eggs on open yellow doors, scrolls, force arrows, or trapdoors. If she just moved from another tile in the last turn, she will not lay an egg on that tile. Trivia With the release of DROD: The Second Sky, roach queens received an updated model, giving them a more plump appearance than in previous DROD games. External Links Article on Roaches and Roach Queens Category:DROD Monsters Category:Monsters Category:Roaches